MIT students to run ‘Nearly Naked’ for Collier scholarship

One MIT fraternity is corralling a crowd of do-gooders to strip down to their underwear and run nearly a mile in honor of the MIT police officer Sean Collier who was allegedly killed last year by the Boston Marathon bombing suspects.

The charity event, called Nearly Naked Nearly Mile, will take place on April 19 at 5 p.m. The run will begin at the Kappa Sigma Fraternity on Memorial Drive and will raise money for the Officer Sean Collier Self Sponsor Scholarship, which will fund a recruit through the Lowell Police Academy every year.

The clothes participants arrive in—except for the underwear, which is highly encouraged to remain worn—will be donated to the American Red Cross, the organizers wrote on the event website.

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A team of runners dubbed Team Collier Strong plan to run the Boston Marathon this year. According to the Nearly Naked organizers, their event will allow for those who knew or appreciated Collier to pay tribute to his legacy.

On April 18th, 2013, Officer Collier was stolen away from us. His loss shocked and devastated our community, but has led us to try to live as he did: kind, generous, and full of spirit. This year, we run in his memory.